


Is That an Offer, Dr. Banner?

by WinterSky101



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Falling In Love, First Kiss, M/M, References to Canonical Attempted Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-10
Updated: 2012-09-10
Packaged: 2017-11-14 00:12:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/509269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSky101/pseuds/WinterSky101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While drunk, Tony accidentally says a few more things to Bruce than he originally meant to and lets a few things slip that weren't supposed to. It's up to the two of them to see if anything comes of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is That an Offer, Dr. Banner?

Tony Stark was drunk.

He wasn't sure quite how drunk he was, but he was pretty sure it was more than just a little bit. Not knowing how much alcohol he had imbibed probably meant he was very drunk. All he knew was that he was drunk and the adorable Dr. Bruce Banner was right in front of him. The very adorable, positively sexy, and incredibly available Dr. Bruce Banner.

Except, wait a second, Tony had a girlfriend. He thought. He wasn't quite sure. His thoughts were muddled - yet more evidence that he was heavily intoxicated - but then the revelation finally came to him. He  _had_  had a girlfriend. The reason he had gotten that drunk in the first place was because she broke up with him.

…Why did she break up with him?

"Hey Bruce?" Tony asked in a strange voice that didn't sound like his own. Bruce looked over at him. He didn't seem to be drunk. "Why did my girlfriend break up with me again?"

A flush spread across Bruce's cheeks. "Um... She thought you... um... preferred someone else. She said that if you weren't going to be faithful, she would have to leave."

"And what did I say?"

"Something I'm not repeating," Bruce replied, his blush deepening.

"Oh. Who did she think I liked?"

Bruce's face resembled a tomato after the question. He mumbled something under his breath that Tony didn't catch.

"What?"

"Me."

In Tony's drunken state, that didn't seem strange at all. Of _course_ people would like Bruce, Bruce was perfect and very likable. "Oh. Okay. Do I like you?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Why did my girlfriend think I liked you?"

"Um... She said that since I moved into Stark Towers after we saved the world, you were spending more time with me than with her."

"Oh." That did seem like a valid reason. In Tony's drunken state, there was only one natural follow-up question. "Do you like me?"

Bruce's blush deepened. "Tony, I really don't think we should be having this conversation while you're drunk-"

"Do ya? Do ya do ya do ya?"

A fond smile spread across Bruce's face as he ducked his head. "I think you need to go to bed, Tony."

"Is that an offer, Dr. Banner?" Tony asked Bruce with an attempt at a seductive smirk.

A new blush eradicated the old one on Bruce's face and was somehow impossibly darker. "Okay, that's it. No more alcohol for you. You're going to be incredibly hungover in the morning as it is."

Tony made a half-hearted protest. "You didn't answer my question. Are we going to my room or yours?" It seemed Bruce didn't even care to blush any more. Or a new blush couldn't be seen over his old one. "I think my room is probably nicer..."

"You're going to your room, and I'm going to mine. You're going to go to sleep in your bed and I'm going to go to sleep in my bed. Then you're going to wake up in the morning with a hangover and you'll feel stupid when you look back at what you said this night."

"I'm sure I'll feel less stupid if I wake up in my bed with you..." Tony said in a voice that was supposed to be seductive.

"Tony, quit it."

"You're a very attractive man, Bruce Banner. I can't even count the number of things I want to do to you. Probably because I'm too drunk to count. But anyway, it would be really fun."

"That's the best you can do? Really fun?" Bruce teased.

Tony's brow furrowed in concentration. "How about… awesome? Fabulous? Earth-shattering?"

"How about it's-not-going-to-happen?" Bruce suggested. Tony gave him a sad look, using him puppy-dog eyes that he was pretty sure Bruce _almost_ gave into. "Tony, you need to go to bed. You're so drunk you probably don't even know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying. I'm asking you to have sex with me, because you're a very hot man and I really want to have sex with someone. And you're saying no, but I don't understand why."

"You're going to be the death of me, Tony," Bruce moaned.

A suggestive smile came across Tony's face. "You think I'd be that good? Why, thank you, Brucey."

Sighing, Bruce took Tony by the arm and dragged him to his bedroom. Tony laughed and tried to drag Bruce in with him, but he refused to go in. With a shrug, Tony went into his room, collapsed on his bed, and passed out instantly.

His last thought was that his ex-girlfriend -  _What was her name again? Penny? Penelope? Peppie? Something like that..._  - was probably right.

* * *

Bruce kept one eye on the camera in Tony's room as he tinkered with the gauntlet of the Mark VIII version of the Iron Man suit. Mark VII had been brand-new when Tony first wore it, but it had been pretty much destroyed due to its impromptu trip into space. Bruce was helping to make a new suit. He was waiting for his friend to wake up, but he thought it might take a while. True, it was ten o'clock in the morning, but Tony had gotten  _very_  drunk the night before. Bruce was pretty sure the hangover wasn't going to be pretty.

There was movement in his peripheral vision and Bruce turned to see a disheveled-looking Tony sit up in bed for a moment, then turn over and flop face-first back into his pillow.

"Lovely morning, isn't it?" Bruce muttered to himself, grinning widely.

A few moments later, Tony actually got up and stood next to his bed, looking like he was still about ninety percent asleep. His adorable ruffled hair made Bruce's heart speed up a bit. Tony looked down at his clothes in confusion, realizing he was wearing his clothes from the day before. He looked at them, shrugged, and unbuttoned his shirt. Feeling slightly like a Peeping Tom, Bruce quickly turned off the camera and went back to messing with the gauntlet.

He gave Tony five minutes to get dressed. He thought he was being generous, but when he turned the camera back on, Tony was only wearing pants. Bruce's hand lingered over the video blackout button, but he pulled it back and kept the video on. It wasn't like this was anything he hadn't seen before.

The arc reactor nestled in Tony's chest was glowing a light blue. It was seamlessly placed inside his body, without the skin around it looking irritated at all. Bruce wondered offhandedly if it would be hot or cold if he were to rest his head on Tony's bare chest, then shook his head as if to dislodge the thought.  _Don't start thinking about that, Bruce Banner,_  he commanded himself sternly.  _What happened last night should not be taken as encouragement. Tony was ridiculously drunk and he probably won't remember a word of what he said. Don't get your hopes up._  Anyway, everyone he ever got close to like that ended up getting hurt. He didn't want that to happen to Tony. He wouldn't be able to bear it if that happened to Tony.

Tony finally chose a shirt - his usual Black Sabbath one, big surprise - and left the room. _"Shall I change this to the cameras in the hallway, Dr. Banner?"_ JARVIS asked politely, though Bruce thought he heard a sarcastic undertone. Even though it was just an A.I., Bruce still blushed at the thought of being discovered.

"No thank you, JARVIS," he replied. He quickly turned off the video, wanting to erase the evidence of his spying as much as he could.

A few minutes later, Tony stumbled into the lab. "How much did I drink last night?" he asked, sinking into a chair and burying his head in his hands.

Bruce picked up the glass of water and container of painkillers he had had at the ready all morning and handed them to Tony. "I lost count after the tenth whiskey. I tried to stop you. You were very uncooperative."

"Did I actually say everything I think I remember saying?" Tony asked, swallowing the pills with a gulp of water.

Bruce flushed slightly. So he  _did_  remember. "What do you think you said?"

Tony looked ashamed. "Did I flirt with you blatantly and say that I wanted to have sex with you because I wanted to have sex and you're attractive?"

Bruce smiled mischievously. "I believe the exact words were 'I'm asking you to have sex with me, because you're a very hot man and I really want to have sex with someone,'" he replied.

Tony buried his face in his hands with a long drawn-out groan. Bruce fought the urge to laugh.

"And did I actually call you…"

"'Brucey'?" Bruce finished. "Yes. I can see you put quite a lot of time into that nickname."

Tony groaned. "None of that was ever supposed to leave my head."

Sudden silence descended on the two as they realized what Tony said. "Did you…" Bruce began, but his voice trailed off in shock.

 _"Mr. Stark, sir?"_ JARVIS asked suddenly, breaking into the tense atmosphere. _"Would you like your normal breakfast?"_

Tony jumped to his feet. "Uh, yeah, JARVIS. Do you want anything, Bruce?"

"I ate already," Bruce replied, looking back down at the gauntlet in his lap. The urge to tinker with it was gone.

"Ate already... What time is it?"

 _"Twelve past ten, ante meridiem, sir,"_ JARVIS responded.

Tony looked shocked. "Ten-twelve? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You had a long, drunken night last night and I thought the sleep would do you good."  _Besides,_ Bruce added mentally,  _you looked so cute sleeping that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up._

"Oh. Well, um, thank you." Tony stood and left for the kitchen, moving too quickly to be casual.

Bruce stayed in the lab, trying to puzzle out the mystery of Tony Stark and figure out if what he had said meant he had a chance.

* * *

Tony sat in the kitchen, picking awkwardly at his food.  _Well, that's just_ perfect _,_ he thought to himself bitterly, stabbing at his scrambled eggs with his fork. He had ruined everything. If he had played it off correctly, he could have made all the things he said sound like drunken ramblings and continued admiring Bruce from afar. But his stupid mouth had to let out the one thing he shouldn't have said. Tony closed his eyes and saw the shocked expression his friend had worn. Why oh  _why_  had he said that?

Tony Stark normally wasn't one to stay back when he wanted something. But Bruce was different. He deserved more. Pepper had been right. He  _was_ in love with Bruce, and while he still cared about Pepper, he  _wanted_ Bruce, and wanted him badly.

Tony shoved his plate out of the way and began to bang his head against the table repeatedly. "Damn it, damn it, damn it," he muttered, wishing he could go back in time and make himself think before talking.

"That's probably not a good thing to do," said a mild voice.

Tony's head shot up to see Bruce standing nonchalantly in the doorway, a slight smile on his face. Bruce came over to him and sat down in the little breakfast nook next to him. Bruce's knee accidentally brushed up against Tony's, then he froze and scooted away.

 _Will this be our lives from now on?_  Tony thought dismally.  _Never touching each other because we're too embarrassed?_

Apparently, he was wrong, as Bruce gently took his face and turned it towards him. Gently, he touched Tony's forehead and sighed as Tony stiffened slightly in pain. "Look, you've bruised yourself. Tony, if you want to destroy something, go to your training room and wear your suit. Don't try to break the table with your head."

"I was feeling more self-destructive there than destructive in general," Tony stated in a casual tone. He didn't miss Bruce's slight wince.

"Those are the urges you're supposed to repress," Bruce replied in a clipped tone.

"Says the man that put a bullet in his mouth," Tony shot back.

Bruce looked down and began to fiddle with his glasses. "That was an entirely different scenario."

"Why did you do it, Bruce?"

This conversation was obviously not going the way Bruce wanted it to. "I told you before. I got low-"

"And you decided putting a gun in your mouth and pulling the trigger sounded like a good idea. I've heard it before. That's a crap explanation and you know it. You're a brilliant man, Bruce. You should have known there was always another option."

"I really don't want to talk about this-"

"And I'm really not giving you a choice, Bruce," Tony replied, his voice harsher than he wanted it to be. "Tell me what happened."

"Tony..."

"Tell me!" Most people, at this point, would stop yelling for fear of the Hulk coming out, but Tony wasn't most people. He knew Bruce had too good a handle on his other side to snap so easily.

"I was reminding myself of my father, okay!" Bruce yelled, getting to his feet. He sagged slightly after the outburst and sat back down, looking at his hands. "I reminded myself of my father."

"What did he do to you?" Tony demanded.

"I was trying to make a cure, and all I could think about was how I had hurt Betty, and it reminded me of what my father did to my mother-" Bruce's voice cut off abruptly. Tony's eyes went wide. "My father…" Bruce's voice was soft. "My father was an alcoholic and beat me and my mother. He killed my mother when I was little and when I hurt Betty, I couldn't think of anything but what he did."

Tony stood abruptly, ignoring his still-lingering headache from his hangover, and went to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked.

"To kill your father."

"He's in a mental hospital," Bruce said softly. "He was drunk and bragging about what he did and…" It wasn't too hard to put the rest of the pieces together.

"I'm still going to kill him."

"Tony-"

"He  _beat_ you, Bruce," Tony snapped. "He deserves what he gets-"

"I don't want to talk about this, Tony." Bruce's voice was cold and strictly controlled. If Tony were paying attention, he would recognize that as a warning sign, but he was too caught up in his own anger to notice Bruce's.

"He made you scared of yourself. He made you think there was something wrong with you, and-"

"Tony-"

"-No father should ever make their son feel like that. I'm going to  _kill_ him-"

Bruce growled, raking his hands through his hair. For a moment, Tony thought he was just doing it in irritation, but then he saw Bruce's back curve in pain as his body seized and realized what was happening.

"Oh, shit, Bruce?"

Bruce looked up, his eyes mostly green. "Get out."

"Follow me," Tony told him instead. "Trust me, Bruce, just try to keep calm for just a few more moments and then you'll be able to let it out."

The green in Bruce's eyes began to lessen, but it was still obvious that he was going to transform, and soon. "Alright, Bruce. Come with me." Tony led him to the stairs and ran down them, going to a large steel door. He put a four-number code and the door swung open. Inside was a reinforced room.

"What-?"

"It's not a cage," Tony qualified quickly. "It's so you can let off some steam sometimes, okay? But I'm not going to trap you in there."

Bruce nodded stiffly and lurched into the room. Tony shut the door and raced to get the kitchen, where the closest television set was.

"Put up the video surveillance from the Green Room, JARVIS," he snapped. JARVIS dutifully turned on the video feed from the room he'd left Bruce. He was just ending the transformation, his skin green and his clothes ripped. It took another moment, then the Hulk straightened and roared loudly. Tony watched with fascination as the creature looked around the room. He seemed far more intelligent than everyone gave him credit for. "JARVIS, activate the PA system in the Green Room."

_"Yes, sir."_

"Hey, buddy," Tony said in what he hoped was a calming voice.

Instantly, the Hulk whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise. _"Tony."_

Tony did a double-take. "Yeah, it's me. That room is for you. It's so you can smash whatever you want and you don't need to worry about hurting anyone."

 _"Not a cage,"_ the Hulk stated in his low, gravely voice.

"No, it's not a cage. It's for you to blow off some steam whenever you want to. Okay, buddy?"

_"Hulk likes Tony."_

Tony sank into his seat. "Run that one by me again?"

_"Hulk likes Tony."_

Tony stared wordlessly at the screen as the Hulk started throwing around the junk Tony had left in the room for him. The Hulk couldn't lie. At least, Tony didn't think he could. And even if he _could_ lie, what motive would he have for saying something like that?

No, it had to be true. But the Hulk didn't like anybody. And if the  _Hulk_ liked Tony, what did that mean for Bruce?

Did this mean Bruce liked him too?

Could this mean Tony had a chance?

* * *

Bruce woke up groggily in a soft, familiar bed. He let out a low groan and instantly, there was movement in the corner of his eye. He jerked up in shock to see Tony, also apparently just waking up. Bruce tried to remember how he had gotten into the bed, but he couldn't. He knew what that meant. The Hulk had made a guest appearance.

"Did I hurt anyone?" he asked instantly.

A still sleep-dazed Tony looked up in confusion. "Huh?" he asked, looking blearily up at him. "Oh. You woke up. I was waiting for you to get up, but I guess I ended up falling asleep too."

"Did I hurt anyone?" Bruce demanded again, not understanding why Tony hadn't answered his question. Didn't he understand that was the most important thing there?

"No, you didn't. Remember where I took you right before you turned into a green rage monster?"

Bruce closed his eyes to try and remember. "We were talking about my father," he began cautiously.

"Yup. That's what set you off," Tony replied. "Then what?"

"And I turned into the… 'other guy,' right?"

Tony shook his head. Bruce looked at him in shock. "Well, you did," Tony elaborated. "But not right then. Remember what happened, Bruce? You were trying to keep from hulking out…"

"Hulking out?" Bruce asked in a sarcastic tone.

Tony shrugged. "Hey, the phrase works, right? But try to remember. You were about to turn into the Hulk…"

"And you told me to follow you," Bruce finished, the memory suddenly coming to him. "You led me downstairs to a big steel door and you told me to go in. You said…" Bruce tried his hardest to remember. The things that happened right before becoming the Hulk were always the hardest ones to bring to mind.

"I said it wasn't a cage," Tony finished softly. "That's the Green Room. It's not quite finished yet, but it works. It's a place for you to go where you can lose control without having to worry about hurting anyone. It's completely soundproofed and the door requires a code to enter. For now it does, at least. I'm going to change it to a fingerprint scanner, but for the moment, the code is 4855."

"That spells Hulk, doesn't it?" Bruce asked with a slight laugh.

Tony nodded. "I was thinking 8669, but the room isn't actually mine…"

"Hey, isn't the code for practically everything else in this house 'Tony'? Why not that door as well?"

"Well, I figured it's your room and you live in the house too, so I thought, you know, you could have  _one_  thing," Tony replied sarcastically.

Bruce grinned. "Only one?"

Tony laughed. "Well, maybe a bit more…"

"So, what else is in the Green Room?"

"Eh, a couple of cameras and a PA system, and some junk for the Hulk to mess around with," Tony replied offhandedly. "Nothing fancy."

"Did you have a nice conversation with the Hulk?" Bruce asked sarcastically. Tony shifted slightly. Bruce blinked. "Oh God, did you?"

"We had a bit of a conversation, yes," Tony replied, not looking up. "He told me something rather interesting."

Bruce felt the color draining from his face. "What would that be?" he asked in a voice that he hoped didn't sound as pathetic as it did in his mind. If the Hulk had said anything about Tony…

"Hulk said he liked me."

Bruce buried his head in his hands, drawing his knees up in the bed. No, no, _no_. Tony knew. Or he at least suspected. Had everything been ruined?

"So I was wondering… If the Hulk likes me, what does that mean for you?"

"I'll get packing, then."

Tony looked at him in shock. "What do you mean?"

"You want me gone, don't you? I understand. It would be too awkward to stay here after I told you that I… I was planning on going back to India anyway. I had unfinished business there. Lots of people to help, and I only managed to help a few of them. Or I could go somewhere else. Or I could stay here and keep working with S.H.I.E.L.D. I don't know. There are-"

Suddenly, Bruce's babble was cut off by warm lips against his. A moment later, the slight pressure was gone and he was staring into Tony's warm brown eyes.

"You don't need to leave, Bruce. In fact, I'd rather prefer that you don't. I don't really care for the whole long-distance-relationship thing."

"You…you mean…" For some reason, Bruce - who was, by all rights, a genius - seemed to have a newfound inability to speak in complete sentences. He had a feeling the reason was right in front of him.

"Bruce, you're not the only one with a major crush," Tony replied with a soft smile. Bruce wasn't sure he'd ever seen its like on Tony's face before. "I thought you got that from my drunken ramblings last night. And my stupid remark this morning."

"It wasn't stupid," Bruce replied automatically. "It was one the best things I've ever heard in my life."

"Really?" Tony asked in a surprised voice. Bruce nodded. "Well, in that case, I'll have to one-up it. Dr. Bruce Banner, I am completely and undeniably in love with you."

Bruce considered replying in words, but ended up simply pressing his lips against Tony's in response. When the two finally had to break apart for air, Bruce slid his lips next to Tony's ear.

"That means I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> My writing tumblr is [here](http://winterskywrites.tumblr.com/), if you're interested.


End file.
